It’s My Job To Raise Decent Human Beings

Have you been watching 13 Reasons Why?

This show has brought up a lot of regressed thoughts and memories from my high school life and because of that, I had to share this post-run rant with you. Honestly, I debated sharing this video at all because it’s harsher than my vlogs usually are, but I think it’s important.

There’s a lot of discussion out there about protecting our girls from predators and sexual assault, but we also need to focus on raising sons that know behaviour like this isn’t appropriate. We need to teach them boundaries.

Just like girls, boys are under a TON of pressure to fit in, to “be cool”, to “fit in”.

If their peers are catcalling, that pressure to join in can be overwhelming, even when they know it’s wrong.

Related: “Mom, Can I Have Instagram?”

When I shared this video on Facebook originally, one of my favourite comments came from Kerrie Riel who said “let’s stop focusing on gender and raise decent empathetic people”. Absolutely. It goes both ways.

As parents, it’s our job to teach our children about healthy relationship and prepare them for sexual situation and the truths behind peer pressure, rather than focusing solely on protecting girls from being assaulted.

We are responsible for raising that next generation and without communication and honesty, we just can’t. Our kids need the tools to handle the tricky situations that are going to come up in their lives and it’s our duty to give them those tools.

Thank you for watching.